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Salem's largest toy drive in trouble

The Salvation Army’s Toy & Joy Project helped 1,059 families last year including Gloria Garibay who picked out gifts for her two sets of twins, ten-year-old girls and six-year-old boys. This year the nonprofit is struggling to gather enough toys to meet the need after its largest donor went with a statewide drive instead.(Photo: Thomas Patterson / Statesman Journal)Buy Photo

Salem-Keizer's largest toy drive, the Christmas Toy & Joy Project, lost its biggest donor and is scrambling to fill the need before Christmas.

Last year the project helped 1,059 local families, but it's uncertain if The Salvation Army, the nonprofit that runs the project, can hit that number again after its largest donor, which provided 80 percent of the toys, went with a statewide drive instead.

"We have always been the main source of toys for the Salem-Keizer area," said Melissa Baurer with The Salvation Army. "We're just praying that it all works out."

The nonprofit enlisted help from new partners including I-5 Entertainment and Sysco to boost the number of toy barrels from 40 last year to more than 60. Tricia Hande with Sysco Food Services encouraged several local restaurants to sign up to help The Salvation Army for the first this year.

"It's a great organization that's great for the community," she said.

Walmart will host two Fill the Truck events to collect toys for The Salvation Army 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29 at the Turner Road store and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Turner Road and Commercial street stores.

The Salem Fire Department will host a toy drive at Shopko 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 6 for The Salvation Army complete with firefighters in uniform, firetrucks and photos with Santa.

"It's been a long-standing tradition to have a toy drive for the fire department," said Salem firefighter and organizer Andy Grimmer.

The Salvation Army also asked businesses to adopt families for the first time in Salem, providing gifts and food boxes, and about 20 have stepped up already. But organizers are still looking for more help to fill the gap.

"I have a lot of faith in our Salem community that they're going to pull through," Baurer.

The Salvation Army will collect toys and food through Dec. 15 and distribute the gifts Dec. 17 and 18 to low-income families that applied to the Christmas Toy & Joy Project. Call The Salvation Army to volunteer, donate, adopt a family or host a toy or food drive at (503) 798-4876.

sknowlto@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6735

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The Salvation Army’s Toy &amp; Joy Project helped more than 1,000 families celebrate Christmas with presents and food last year, but this year it’s struggling to meet the need.(Photo: Thomas Patterson / Statesman Journal)

Christmas Toy & Joy Project

Community members can deliver new unwrapped toys, books and clothes for ages birth to 18 to the following sites: